tulsi tea
by RebelzHeart
Summary: In which Matt and Tony get sent to the principal's office. Part 19 of a cup of tea series


So Peter's been balancing his life pretty well, all things considering. Spider-man, school, decathlon... alright, maybe sometimes he screws up the balance. And maybe, sometimes, he misses a class because there's a robbery at the bank or a villain attacking.

And it would be fine, he would be proud of himself, except that he's just earned himself a detention and his oh-so-helpful principal has decided that after he's missed class this long, a parent-teacher meeting is in order.

Which would be fine.

Except.

Peter has no idea who has been contacted.

He knows that May has listed some emergency contacts for him, but who these actual contacts are? He fidgets in his seat and tries not to imagine what it would be like if some random old lady that he had never met before just came in and was informed all about his truancy.

He can just imagine it now. A white-haired lady with papery, time-worn cheeks and a disapproving stare that bores into Peter's chest.

And okay, fine, maybe he's being a _little_ melodramatic, but seriously, how would he know?

And then there's this PSA that they're making him watch. Again. And _again._ And _again_.

He doesn't need to see Captain America's face on a TV screen when he's already seen it after a freaking water tower being dropped on him, thank you very much.

Then there's the sound of something tapping on the floor and Peter barely has time to think, _Matt_ , before Tony opens the door.

"Hey kid," Tony says casually, as though he isn't Tony Stark and as though he had not just been called by Peter's principle.

"Tony?" Peter squeaks.

"I'm here, too," Matt's head pops out from behind Tony and he gives an awkward wave, "I heard that you got in trouble?"

"Oh my god, is that Capsicle on screen?" Tony sounds as though he's cracking up, "Shit, this must be why he gets so much revenue from his products, every school's buying these... hey, what are these called?"

Principal Morita looks as though he is beginning to regret every decision in his life and Tony looks as gleeful as he can get.

Peter, sympathetic to his plight, gets up and starts to make tea. Principal Morita shoots him a vaguely confused but mostly grateful look.

"Is that one of those Captain America PSAs?" Matt laughs a bit, "I remember you telling me about those."

"Stop laughing," Peter sighs, pulling four white cups from the cupboard and putting bags of tulsi in it, "You're supposed to lecture me about how disappointed you are."

Tony shoots Matt an amused look.

Matt raises an eyebrow and does not look at Tony.

"You are totally right," Tony agrees, moving over and slinging an arm over Peter's shoulders, "I'm am super disappointed, kiddo. How dare you. It's, like, so terrible. Next thing you know, you'll be a drug addict in the streets and..."

" _Tony_ ," Matt says, exasperated.

Peter pours water from the kettle (why does Principal Morita have a kettle in his office, he takes a moment to wonder, and decides it must be to help after dealing with parents like Matt and Tony) into the cups and tries not to bang his head against anything.

"What?" Tony squawks, "I'm supposed to lecture him, aren't I?"

"Be a principal, they said," Principal Morita is muttering to himself, "You won't have to deal with troublesome kids or weird parents, they said."

"I am _so_ sorry, Principal Morita," Peter says, reaching out to set a cup of the tea down on Principal Morita's desk, "I know that Mr. Stark and Matt can be a bit much..."

"I _told_ you, kid, call me Tony..."

"We're not _that_ bad..."

"You can't have normal parents?" Principal Morita takes a sip of the tulsi tea and relaxes a bit, "I mean, you're already Spider-man, which is _already_ wreaking havoc on how you're going to deal with school and stuff..."

Peter starts, "Wait, you _knew_...!?"

Principal Morita straightens a bit, expression smoothing over, and he raises an eyebrow, expression smooth and utterly condemning.

Peter slinks and melts further into his seat, reddening, "Yeah, okay. I thought the school didn't have cameras?"

Principal Morita clasps his hands together and presses them to his forehead, as though begging God to just take him away. " _Peter_."

"Okay, I know for a _fact_ that the school doesn't have cameras," Tony says, lifting up a finger, "I have hacked the system, I should know."

"Is Peter in trouble? This isn't going on his permanent record, is it?" Matt scrunches up his nose, and then, as an afterthought, "If you tell anybody about Peter's identity, we'll be forced to kill you to keep our secrets."

"Wait," Tony shoots Matt a look that's a mixture between alarmed and impressed, "What?"

"You can't kill my _principal_!" Peter freaks out.

"I'm not going to tell anyone about your identity, relax," Principal Morita rolls his eyes, looking alarmingly calm for someone who has just been threatened with assassination.

 _Maybe it's the tea,_ Peter thinks. And then he thinks, _no, wait, even tea wouldn't stop me from freaking about about someone threatening to kill me_. Maybe Principal Morita's had many assassination threats from displeased parents and is used to them? That's a scary thought. Well, maybe he doesn't think Matt is serious?

"Matt is serious about killing you, you know," Peter says.

Principal Morita shoots Peter a flat look. "Thank you, Mr. Parker, for telling me. That makes me feel completely at ease," he turns back to Matt, "It's not going to go on his permanent record, don't worry. But his absences from class _will_. It's alright, now, because Mr. Parker is still only in tenth grade..."

Matt mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like _thank god_.

"...but it will be something that may prevent him from getting into a University that he wants if he keeps this up next year."

Tony grimaces, "And while bribery is great, I'd rather not resort to that to get Peter into the school he wants."

"Please don't," Peter says, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stave off an oncoming headache.

"If you _must_..." Matt says thoughtfully.

Peter jabs a finger at Matt, " _No_."

"You're smart enough for it," Matt crosses his arms over his chest, "It's just Spider-man that's the problem."

"Spider-man won't magically go away once Peter enters University, Mr. Murdock," Principal Morita purses his lips together, "So it's better that he deals with it _now_ , when it doesn't have more permanent consequences."

"He'll always have a job at SI," Tony says quietly, "Even if he drops out, right now. He will."

"And as wonderful as that is, Mr. Stark," Principal Morita's tone indicates that it isn't, "What if you die or your company fails? Oh, sure, not soon. But in ten years? Twenty? Will Mr. Parker be content to stay at Stark Industries and not want to expand his horizons?"

"SI _is_ the horizon," Tony scowls.

"And if he wants to pursue something that SI can't offer?" Principal Morita asks, chin raised, "Mr. Parker is smart. University should be an option for him. _Good_ universities should be options for him. And if he keeps up his spotty attendance record, they won't be."

Peter awkwardly slides a cup of tea towards Tony. Tony takes it and drinks it angrily. He's probably imagining that it's Principal Morita's blood or something. Wait. No. Ew. Why is Peter's mind like this.

Matt, surprisingly, is the first to speak. "So what do we do?"

Principal Morita smiles, and gestures for him to sit. "That's what we're here to discuss."

And so they do.


End file.
